IE was my default browser about three months ago when I started experiencing this issue.

Intermittent hangs would occur when I would open a new main page or new tab to a site I know would be up.

What I mean by a hang:

The browser would open and say "Waiting for site " and do nothing more.

If I closed the window and reopened it it would immediatly connect. Over time I would have to close and reopen the window to get to the page. This would happen to any page including Google.

I finally got sick of it and started using chrome and I will never go back. I recently upgraded my anti-virus and now I am experiencing the same issue with Chrome. I use AVG for my antivirus.

Empirically it seems if I don't make Chrome my default browser I don't experience the issue. I tested this theory for over two hours yesterday.

Possible issues I have found this coudl be but not confirmed yet:

1. MTU settings are not correct.
2. I am infected but my antivirus has not caught it (unlikely but possible)
3. ??

I would like to think this is related to my antivirus but I am unsure how to verify. I don't like the idea of killing my antivirus if #2 is a possibility.

I am looking for tips on how I can trouble shoot possible issues.

I am on Windows XP SP3

Thanks in advance.